


In Crimson They Fell

by Fenris30



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Blood, Blood and Gore, Blood and Violence, Canon Compliant, Fights, Gen, Graphic Violence, Minor Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-02
Updated: 2018-03-02
Packaged: 2019-03-26 05:12:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13850805
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fenris30/pseuds/Fenris30
Summary: My take on the darker, more violent details of the quest 'A Glimpse of Madness', the 4.0 MSQ where you hear about how Zenos had crushed the Doman Liberation Front while he was alone and unarmed, and dared them to continue.Essentially filling in the parts that they *don't* tell you in the quest. Speed-write of sorts.





	In Crimson They Fell

**Author's Note:**

> Warning: Graphic Violence, as well as MSQ Spoilers for Stormblood(mostly 4.0 but I touch on a few things that end up in 4.2.)
> 
> This is, as said, a sort of 'filling in the blanks' from that MSQ, A Glimpse of Madness. It was one of my favorites in the game, since the way they told it just made my skin crawl from the implied brutality. I appreciated them not telling all of the details(in a teen-rated game, I don't think they *could* have), but I decided, because I like writing stuff like this, to tell what my brain put together. 
> 
> Also-and I had done as much research as I could here-I have come to the conclusion Kaien's death was the stopping point of the rebellion, and this scene was the initial push, when Kaien retreated with the last remnants(when you saw him push into the place where Asahi was in the 4.2 flashback), after it was clear Zenos had them on their last legs.

_How did this even happen?_

Sakai scratched his head, thinking to himself and looking around at other rather nervous, and confused, people. The young man-a member of the Doman Liberation Front-was moving about, near the headquarters. There weren't many other places he could have actually moved, now that the XIIth Legion had moved in.

It had shocked all of them. The last he had heard-from one of his friends, a man about five years older than he, Gyosei-they had the XIIth Legion and their Legatus, Zenos yae Galvus-the crown prince-on the heel. In fact, there were barely any of the XIIth even on the field. It was bizarre. They did not look a gift horse in the mouth, however; so they pressed the advantage.

In hindsight, it was clear the Legatus knew they would, and they had been led into a trap.

No one knew what happened. They had never seen a stratagem like the one Zenos had employed; the formations, the tactics...none of it. They had plenty of their own-there were some brilliant tactical minds in the rebellion-but simply put, they did not know what they were up against this time. They had been fighting the Garleans now for years and years; but Zenos was cut from a different cloth. This uprising had been a rather hefty one, and they supposed that is why they sent the XIIth to sort it out instead of more common units.

One minute they thought they had them retreating...and the next, they were surrounded. Quite a few of the resistance were killed in the fighting; some by the Legatus himself they heard. They had managed to take a few Imperials with them, but the surprise had led to their defeat.

Cursing, he wondered where they had gone so bloody _wrong._

And now, something odd was happening. None of the XIIth were attacking further. None of them were even in the village at the moment-mostly in surrounding areas, so it wasn't safe, of course-but still.

“He's coming,” he heard Gyosei say, snapping him out of his distracted and nervous train of thought.

“Who?” the young man replied.

“Zenos. The Legatus himself.”

“With how many?"

“Just him.”

Sakai blinked. “He's...alone?” That sounded...bizarre.

“Yes. We...don't know, but we will meet him. Myself, and the rest of our best.” He nodded toward eight other young men, katanas on their waist. He knew them all; they certainly were some of the best. Each one was worth several Imperials in a straight up fight, he knew, as he had seen it with his own eyes.

“I'm coming too,” he replied, grabbing for the katana at his waist.

“No,” he replied, dead serious. “Not this time. Only the best will do.”

“Why? I can fight! You saw me!” Sakai clenched his fist. “Besides. He's alone.”

“This was...a special request. He wanted all of our best.”

“ _What?_ I...” Gyosei stopped him before he could continue.

“Don't worry,” he said, giving the young man a smile; he only wished that was the last memory he had of his friend and not the one he had ended up with. “Nine of us, remember.” Bowing at his younger friend, he turned to join the rest.

The young man looked on. His sword was at his side; he had fought this day, but he decided to follow instructions. He had a feeling Gyosei knew what he was talking about, as he had witnessed some of what went on the field.

Upon hearing an ominous sound-very heavy, slow footsteps in armor-he turned to look, nearly stumbling back.

_What in the..._ was all he could think.

Zenos walked up, and the man was absolutely _massive_. Moving by where a few of them stood-he paid the young man and a few others at the sidelines no mind-Sakai barely came to his chest. Over seven and a half fulms tall, at _least_ -probably more around eight-he was taller than any Roegadyn in the village, and his great, horned helmet raised him even taller. Straight, blonde hair cascaded out through the helm, draping down his chest and back; it was probably a yalm long, if he was any judge. His hands could have palmed his head easily, on top of it; despite having been around Roegadyn men in his time, who were large, there was something just unsettling about Zenos. He knew he was a Garlean Hyur; no Hyur should get _that_ big, he thought.

His eyes wide, he wondered how exactly the men were going to fight _that_...until he saw he was unarmed. For a brief moment, he almost breathed a sigh of relief; nine of their best, versus an unarmed man?

...A very, _very_ large unarmed man, fully armored in what looked to be impossibly heavy plate; he wondered how a normal man could even come close to moving in it, let alone fight. And why would he move forward, alone?

What was his motive?

He felt the heart sink in his chest again. There were stories about the crown prince; how he was frightfully strong; a juggernaut who made even the strongest warriors-regardless of race-look flimsy. Brutal and unforgiving in combat; utterly merciless.

Zenos' breaths sounded almost frightening through the helmet's mask. He slowly looked at his opposition, who all stepped up, circling him. The day was fairly overcast, though there was no rain; only some wind whipped about the trees, whistling somewhat and cooling the spring air.

No one spoke a word; the tension was incredibly high. More members of the front stepped forward-but they had been given orders to not step in. They were to leave it to the best swordsmen, they had been told.

After what seemed to be a crushing silence, the Legatus finally spoke, snapping the tension that had been building this entire time.

“Come,” a soft, yet terrifying voice spoke from the mask as he looked around.

“Fight for your lives.”

The next ten or so minutes felt like days; Sakai's perception of time seemed to completely disappear in a haze of terror and dread. He had felt fear, before, this is true; this day, when they ended up surrounded suddenly, he felt it. Hells, he had felt it from time to time since the Empire had taken over, mixed with anger and sadness, of course.

But it was never this...utter, sheer _terror_ , so heavy on his shoulders that he felt unable to move.

The first man-a fairly large Hyur-he remembered him. Hotheaded, always the first to strike. A friend of Gyosei; he had fought along side him before himself. A good lad. He sort of remembered having a drink with him not long past.

It was surprising how Zenos moved around the man's blade; for being in such heavy armor, he was smooth and agile. While he usually walked slowly and ominously, he suspected this was on purpose; he could flash with surprising bursts of speed. He even blocked a few of the hits with his forearm...and he didn't budge.

Sakai knew how strong this warrior was, fighting with both hands, as well.

When he closed in, before he knew it, the man was in a sort of bearhug; lifted off the ground. Next to Zenos, he looked almost puny.

"Watch what happens to the weak," Zenos had said, his voice calm.

He remembered the sounds; the young man's screams, the crushing of bone.

He wished he hadn't remembered the aftermath; the blood spewing from his mouth, the man dropped on the ground unceremoniously after, his twisted torso soaked in blood.

_His ribs...were poking out..everywhere..._

"He was not worthy," Zenos had said...his voice sounding more bored than anything, despite the brutal act. "Surely one of you has something more?"

More came forward. Sakai could only watch, shaking.

When he would catch an attacker-after allowing him to attack for awhile-he would do terrible things to them, and he would force the others to watch. He twisted the limbs of one man until they were bleeding before crushing his neck in his giant hand and nearly decapitating him. Another was simply smashed so hard in the side of his head with a mailed fist it was bashed in; he fell, twitching to the ground, as he expired, blood pooling around his head.

Inside the helmet-now spattered with blood-Zenos sighed. "You are unworthy prey. Even as I tear you apart, you fight like your lives do not depend on it.”

Sakai had his hand on his blade; he wanted nothing more than to charge in, to hack away at the giant, to attempt to plunge his katana through his chest, as futile as the act would be. But he was frozen. His knees were locked. He was a coward, he knew.

Suddenly, he watched Zenos grab a man who had simply stepped forward; he did it so quickly the man could not even wrench his weapon loose. Flinging him to the ground, he put his massive, armored boot on the side of his head.

"Come, save your friend," he dared them, his voice low and ominous through his helm.

_He's taunting them. He's trying to enrage them._

_Why? What manner of a beast is he?_

The strangest thing was there was no raucous laughter; no excitement. Zenos yae Galvus was simply... _bored_. Sakai started to get the impression he did not care at all about them, one way or the other. He was getting no enjoyment, but nor was he holding back his terrible, brutal violence.

He didn't know _what_ the Legatus wanted.

One of them did try; he even feinted and aimed his katana for one of the joints in his armor, seeing it more possible to potentially strike him that way.

Zenos deflected the blade, picking the man up by the face. Looking around at the others, he sighed...and killed both men on the spot.

Sakai _wished_ he had turned away, but there come those times where in the face of horror, one finds themselves looking on. The grounded man-he saw his terrified face before it exploded into a gory mass when the giant Legatus stepped down; the other man essentially had his head ripped clean from his body.

He wouldn't have forgotten the sounds, anyway, even if he _had_ looked away.

It was when he saw Gyosei step forward-enraged-that he fell to his knees. His voice caught in his throat; he was unable to yell, speak, anything. The stench of blood in his nostrils overwhelmed him; he knew one of the others off to the side had long thrown up.

_Run away, Gyosei...run away._

_Please._

"You...could be promising," Zenos almost whispered from the helm. His armor was spattered from head to toe in blood; the ground drank it as if it were the soft rains after a drought. The blonde hair that cascaded from the helm wore streaks of red.

"That's right..." he beckoned Gyosei on.

It was then Sakai realized-possibly-what he wanted. He wanted them angry; he wanted them to be able to challenge him.

He did not want weak opponents...he wanted _strong_ ones.

Gyosei's blows almost seemed like the hardest of everyone-but they were clumsy due to his rage. Zenos blocked or deflected them, though he managed to step aside others.

When another man came from the side, his blade over his head, yelling, Gyosei yelled at him to back off...but at this point, Zenos had gotten his massive hands on him. He held his attack, not wanting to hit his friend...and took the kick that Zenos threw out at him full on in the face.

Before this, Sakai knew his friend as the man he fought next to day in and day out; the closest of all of them.

Now, all he could remember was his face a mask of blood and bone, an eye coming from his socket as he span around. He almost swore he looked in Sakai's direction, though absurdly he wondered if he could even think anymore. He didn't know why Gyosei would falter like that; perhaps he didn't expect the man to be able to fight that efficiently in heavy armor? Maybe rage had blinded him...he didn't know.

He fell and expired, just like that. Looking down a moment, Zenos held the other man up by the arms.

Sakai remembered little else but more slaughter, which wasn't much, since most of their best were now dead and broken, scattered in almost a circle around the crown prince.

When it was over, he watched Zenos look around, shaking his head. Pausing a moment, he bent to pick up one of the katanas; Sakai did not know which one it was, but he hoped it was not Gyosei's.

_How can I look at Gyosei to put him to rest...his face...his eye..._

"Alas, I grow bored. I had heard from the Legion that the warriors here were strong. Disappointing."

_Bored? How...does he perform such gruesome acts but not enjoy it?_

_What was that? What is he?_ Sakai simply could not make sense of him. One who killed so brutally he expected to revel in the bloodshed.

Zenos yae Galvus did not care. He did not find the challenge he so craved. He looked up again, hearing him speak.

"This...blade, though. I have...yet to see something so finely crafted." Examining it a moment, he took a practice swing. Often, katanas were used in both hands; Zenos simply used it in one, given his enormous size and strength. "Efficient. Better made than any of the Empire's weapons." Taking a few more swings, he carried it off, walking away from the corpses.

Sakai simply stared at the remainder of their best...and the Legatus as he walked off as if he had been a butcher called to slaughter a few animals for meat.

 

\--

 

They were at the end, he knew. They had been pushed back.

Lord Kaien held the enclave, and there were a scant few remaining before him. Sakai held his blade out in front of him, waiting.

Zenos walked up, slowly, as he would. He held a new katana in his hands; he had ended up breaking the first one. Katanas needed more finesse, and Zenos' insane strength was generally too much for the blades after a time.

Absurdly, the young man wondered how many Imperial blades he had gone through in his time.

He did not know what came over him. Perhaps he was still haunted by the memories of a few days ago; and how he could not bear to go collect the corpses to put them on pyres, as he could not bear to look upon the broken and shattered bodies.

He ran, full on, toward the Legatus, his sword out, screaming. He saw the giant turn toward him, and could have sworn he had heard a sigh.

_The memories...they will finally be gone after I move on._

 

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sure everyone had an idea of how this one went. In the pictures of the aftermath, the thing that was etched into my head was how the bodies were positioned so their heads-and even some of their upper bodies-were hidden by the frame and the vegetation. While this was likely just for framing purposes, I sort of...had the implication, and the way the scene was described in the quest, that it was very, very ugly and messy. (I had always assumed that he picked up the katana on the beach and made the comment in 4.2 because he broke the first one, as seems to be his habit.) 
> 
> The way this whole thing was discussed in-game, it was pretty clear that it was a terrifying and bloody ordeal. 'Dead and Broken' were the words used to describe the bodies. 
> 
> Anyhow, I hope you enjoyed this little bit of storytelling. Just my sort of PoV of how this could have gone down. I always think of his voice when I write his dialogue...
> 
> (Plus I am a terrible, garbage person and wanted to write Zenos fighting again.)


End file.
